German Carmelite Sister Cookies

These particular cookies get their name from 2 Carmelite sisters or nuns that were in hiding during the French revolution.  They actually made these cookies for money to support themselves.  In time, these women were called the "Macaroon sisters" and then later on the recipe was passed onto the Jewish community.

These particular cookies are a macaroon base, however, they have a twist that is reminiscent of the frosting on a German chocolate cake.  They have a chewy pecan filling and are dipped in German chocolate.  They are quite moist and remind me more of a candy than the typical dry macaroons that you often find at the store.  With the humid weather in Texas, I found them to be particularly tasty after refrigeration or even freezing.

If you are like me and love the icing on German chocolate cake, then you will enjoy these.  This recipe makes about 1 1/2 dz macaroons about 2 inches in width.

German Carmelite Sister Cookies
by flourtrader

Ingredients/Filling
2 tbs butter
1 tbs bourbon
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 egg
1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients/Cookies
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Ingredients/Topping
1 cup chopped German chocolate
4 tsp butter

To make the filling, melt butter in a small saucepan on medium heat.  Then stir in corn syrup and
sugar.  Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.  There will no longer be a grittiness at the bottom of the pan when scraped with a spoon.  Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes or to lukewarm temperature.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Fill a bowl with egg and beat it with a fork.  Stir in the vanilla extract and bourbon.  Then mix in the pecans and corn syrup mixture.

Line the bottom of a pie pan or 9 inch cake pan with parchment.  Pour pecan batter into pan and place in the oven to bake for 10-15 minutes.  Mixture is done when it has turned foamy on top, much like the top of a pecan pie.  The mixture should be able to be scooped up with a spoon and fairly solid. Set aside and let cool.

To make macaroon batter, turn the oven down to 325 degrees.  Line two baking pans with silpat liners.  Beat together egg whites until foamy.  Sprinkle in the cream of tartar and beat again until soft peaks form.  Continue to beat and add one tablespoon of sugar.  Continue with this process until all sugar has been incorporated into batter.  Beat until mixture is shiny and very stiff.

Then carefully fold the vanilla and coconut into the batter, making sure that the egg whites keep their consistency.

Pipe or spoon the coconut mixture into mounds on the silpat.  Then place about 1/2 tsp of pecan mixture on the center of each mound.  Pipe or spoon more of the coconut batter on top of the mound, smoothing to make sure that the pecan center is completely covered.

Bake macaroons for 18-22 minutes, keeping a careful eye out during the time beyond 18 minutes.  You want them to be golden brown but not over baked.  Remove pan and let cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to finish cooling.

For the topping, melt chocolate and butter together in a double boiler.  Lay out 2 sheets of wax paper.  Dip cooled cookies halfway into chocolate and then place on wax paper and let set.

Tips and Notes
1. I used parchment as well as a silpat and found that the silpat worked better.  If you have the patience for peeling these carefully off the parchment, it will work.
2. Make sure that your coconut mound is at least 1/2 inch high before adding the filling because the pecan mixture does sink.
3.  You will have some excess of the filling, but you can always top ice cream with it or double the macaroon cookie recipe.
                          **LAST YEAR: Alpine Easter Bread**

Coconut Macaroon Brownies

I had contemplated doing a post of a bundt cake with a tunnel of coconut, but when I saw the title of this recipe-the bundt idea disappeared.  When I first read the instructions, I thought that the process with the macaroon topping would make it appear as an inside layer.  However, once I saw the how the top got toasty when baking-I was pleasantly surprised.  I would much rather have the toastiness on top than the chewy in the middle.  Also, one of the biggest things I noticed about the ingredient list was that it took a whopping 6 whole eggs and 6 egg whites.

The brownie base falls into the middle category of cakey and fudgey.  The top part is good enough to eat on its own, but is the perfect compliment to the brownie.  This recipe is one that I will repeat. Now my mind is toying with drizzling it with chocolate or including chopped almonds for the next batch. 

Also, I was recently given the Liebster Award from Diane at The Hidden Pantry and I wanted to thank her for passing it along. Her blog does have a lot to offer.  Not only does she have some great recipe posts (like a pineapple walnut cheese ball) she has some very helpful information and tips. There is one post in which she deciphers produce codes indicating which is organic,conventional or gmo and another one with advice on the best utensils to start building your kitchenware. But I will not ramble on, pop on over to Diane's blog to see for yourself at The Hidden Pantry.


Coconut Macaroon Brownies
adapted from The Dessert Bible

Ingredients/Brownie Base
1 cup flour
2 tbs cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup or 2 sticks of butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
6 large eggs, room temp

Ingredients/Macaroon Layer
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups unsweetened or desiccated coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
6 large egg whites, room temp
3 tbs butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup light corn syrup

Grease a 9X13 inch pan or line the pan with foil.

To make the brownie layer, prepare a double boiler with water and place over medium heat.  Put butter and chocolate in top pan to melt.  Stir mixture about every 3 minutes until it all is melted and smooth.  Remove pan and set aside.

in another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla together until completely blended.  Then pour in the chocolate mixture in three increments, whisking after each addition.  Stir in the salt.  Add the flour, cocoa powder and sugar and mix with a wooden spoon until batter is thick and smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan and set aside.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the topping, whisk the egg whites until a little froth forms.  Then combine the corn syrup, vanilla and butter into the egg whites. Mix in the salt and then the sugar.  Once all is combined fold in the coconut until evenly distributed.

Using a spoon, drop large scoops of macaroon mixture onto batter.  The scoop should be about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons and the mixture should be placed in 3 rows of 5 on top of the brownie batter.  Then take a knife and cut an "X" into each mound.  This will help each mound bake and bond together to cover the top of the brownie batter.

The recipe states bake in oven for about 40 minutes, however I left mine in for about 50 minutes. Getting the center cooked in such a large pan is tricky for me when it comes to bars.  Brownies are done when the center is firm to the touch.  Let brownies cool completely in pan placed on a rack.
              **LAST YEAR: Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes**